Bachelor of Fine Arts
The Visual Communication concentration offers a broad approach to the applied Visual Communications major and serves students who wish to remain open to the full range of specializations in Graphic Design, Web/Interactive Design, Advertising Design and Illustration/Animation.
Visual Communications is designing art with the purpose of conveying an idea or message so students learn to convey ideas and information using traditional and digital methods by producing work that can be read, viewed or interacted with over various media.
Students can pursue degrees in higher education, go into business as freelancers, or find employment in corporate art departments, advertising agencies, design studios, publishing houses, newspapers, magazines, record companies, multi-media and web design businesses, television studios, package companies, or printing firms.
Goals:
• Teach students to solve communication problems visually, to partake in conceptual message development, and to achieve personal creative excellence;
• Help students understand and respond to the cultural influences that shape various audiences, messages, client needs, and design decisions;
• Develop proficiency in classic media as well as fluency in new technologies; and
• Ensure understanding of basic business practices as designers, including production, project organization, and working in a team environment.
Special Features:
• Students are required to take two career electives that offer a broad experience within the Visual Communications degree to maximize their professional experience in the field.
• In their final year, Visual Communications students complete a comprehensive senior project in their area of concentration and in collaboration with a professional contact within the field. These projects and their portfolios are showcased in the College Art Gallery in April. The exhibition is curated by the students, and offers the opportunity for friends, family, and industry professionals to view their creative efforts on a large scale.
• Students and graduates of the Visual Communications program routinely win regional and national awards for their real-world design work.
• The VC Club takes annual trips to NYC during which students have the opportunity to tour advertising and design related businesses and visit with authorities in the field.
• Internships are an integral part of the program because they provide students with valuable professional experience as well as all-important opportunities for networking. Internship students are placed nationally in corporate or educational art departments, advertising agencies, design and animation studios, and publishing houses.
• Students spend their entire senior year building print and online portfolios while conducting successful job searches with mentors in the field. These portfolios are widely acknowledged by local industry professionals as the best in the region, making graduates competitive on the job market regionally as well as nationally.
• Classes are small and taught in seminar/discussion/studio format by well-qualified, full-time faculty members in Reisman Hall, with state-of-the art dual boot computer studio labs.
Career Opportunities
After graduation students pursue degrees in higher education, go into business as freelancers, or find employment in corporate art departments, advertising agencies, design studios, publishing houses, newspapers, magazines, multi-media and web design businesses, or printing firms.
Students with a BFA in Visual Communications enter a growing job market with many career options. Typical employers would include advertising agencies, multimedia production companies, publishers, design groups and consultancies, magazines, local government, education, television, charities, commerce and local industry.
Positions graduates may seek include:
| Graphic Designer | Illustrator |
| Art Director | Animator |
| Creative Director | Advertising Account Executive |
|
Multimedia Graphic Designer/Web Designer | |
GENERAL EDUCATION COURSES
Courses (Credits)
See Degree Requirements: General Education requirements (33)
Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and Information Literacy:
VC 498 Senior Project (3)
Senior Capstone: VC 499 Senior Seminar (3)
TOTAL GENERAL EDUCATION CREDITS - 39
PROGRAM COURSES
Art & Sciences Courses
Courses (Credits)
VC 221 History of Visual Communications (3)
Total Arts & Sciences Program Credits - 3
Career Courses
Courses (Credits)
SA 111 Drawing: Composition & Perception (3)
SA 131 Design & Color Theory (3)
VC 112 Concepting (3)
VC 118 Digital Foundations (3)
VC 140 Typography (3)
VC 174 Digital Page Layout (3)
VC 232 Illustration (3)
VC 241 Advertising Design (3)
VC 242 Graphic Design (3)
VC 274 Imaging Graphics (3)
VC 341 Advanced Advertising Design (3)
VC 342 Advanced Graphics Design (3)
VC 374 Interactive Design (3)
VC 375 Designing for the Web (3)
VC 384 Visual Communications Internship (3)
VC 388 Package Design (3)
VC 475 Advanced Designing for the Web (3)
VC 492 Senior Portfolio (3)
VC 493 Advanced Senior Portfolio (3)
VC 300-400 Career Elective (6)
VC 281 Internship Preparation (1)
Total Career Program Credits - 64
TOTAL PROGRAM CREDITS - 67
ELECTIVES
Open Electives
Courses (Credits)
100-400 level (15)
Total Open Elective Credits -15
TOTAL ELECTIVE CREDITS - 15
TOTAL CREDITS FOR DEGREE – 121
Contact Information:
Laurie Selleck
Associate Professor and Program Director, Visual Communications
111 Reisman Hall
Phone: (315) 655-7151
Email: lselleck
Scott Jensen
Assistant Professor, Visual Communications
120 Reisman Hall
Phone: (315) 655-7149
E-mail: spjensen
Allyn Stewart
Associate Professor, Visual Communications
105 Reisman Hall
Phone: (315) 655-7109
E-mail: astewart
Andrea Hempstead
Visiting Instructor, Visual Communications
103 Reisman Hall
Phone: (315) 655-7209
E-mail: altrask
Please add suffix (@cazenovia.edu) for all e-mail addresses.